India-Pakistan players shake hands, exchange pennants at SAFF U20 football championship

Indian football has once again refused to adopt the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) 'no handshake' policy with Pakistan on the international stage.

The Indian men's under-20 side went along with the globally accepted customs of handshakes and exchange of pennants with their Pakistani counterparts ahead of their meeting in the SAFF U-20 Championship at the National Stadium in Male on Thursday.

Both sets of players lined up side by side for the national anthems, after which they greeted each other. At toss, Indian skipper Suraj Aheibam greeted his Pakistani counterpart Ali Zafar and the two exchanged pennants of their respective national federations before posing for photographs with the match officials.

In the match that followed, India showed no mercy and emerged 3-0 winners to enter the semifinals. Former senior international Mahesh Gawali is the head coach of the India U-20 side.

The routine pre-match actions hold great significance in the context of the norm set by the BCCI last year. The Indian men's cricket team has refused to extend these globally accepted courtesies to their Pakistani counterparts since the 2025 Asia Cup, which was held after a cowardly attack carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists at Pahalgam in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Suryakumar Yadav-led team stuck to the 'no handshake' policy as recently as mid-February when India and Pakistan met in a T20 World Cup group match in Colombo. The Indian players ignored their opponents even after the match, which they won comfortably by 61 runs.

Last September, players of India's Under-17 men's football team shook hands with their Pakistani counterparts in the SAFF U-17 Championship in Colombo.